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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Do you ever read Jane Austen or Henry James and think, no one writes books like that anymore? You're wrong. Helen Simonson does, only they're even better than Jane Austen or Henry James. They are light and witty and like the perfect English holiday, only not a holiday, because the people are real and sometimes things are sad, but like Jane Austen, it will all be okay in the end. I guess what I'm trying to say is I loved this book, just as much as her first novel, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, which believe me, I love A LOT.
emotional
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, War
The ending was not as well written as the rest of the book but I loved the story!
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
This book made me feel I was revisiting my enchanted tryst with Downton Abbey, and although it is slow moving, I could not put it down. Brace yourself for a truly shocking reveal at the very end.
Easily worth 4 stars at times and included some 5-star characters, but - the middle felt really really long, and I was never in a hurry to pick it back up after having put it down.
I do love a village and there's a good one here. I also like good characters that aren't always good, and there are plenty of those as well (5 stars for Agatha and Daniel and Mr Tillingham, among others). Beatrice, the main character, was always good, made the right decisions for the right reasons and so forth, and yet somehow I ended up liking her too. And, I thought the ending was just right.
So three stars I guess due to length and slowness. Maybe later I'll decide to round up instead of down and in any case, I think I need to reread Major Pettigrew because now I'm curious to see what I loved so much about him.
I do love a village and there's a good one here. I also like good characters that aren't always good, and there are plenty of those as well (5 stars for Agatha and Daniel and Mr Tillingham, among others). Beatrice, the main character, was always good, made the right decisions for the right reasons and so forth, and yet somehow I ended up liking her too. And, I thought the ending was just right.
So three stars I guess due to length and slowness. Maybe later I'll decide to round up instead of down and in any case, I think I need to reread Major Pettigrew because now I'm curious to see what I loved so much about him.
Wonderful
This book just sweeps you away into a different view of war, the simple day to day life before the tragedy breaks loose.
This book just sweeps you away into a different view of war, the simple day to day life before the tragedy breaks loose.
I loved Simonson's previous book [b:Major Pettigrew's Last Stand|6643090|Major Pettigrew's Last Stand|Helen Simonson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320539020s/6643090.jpg|6837577] so I was excited to see that she'd written another book. This book is definitely quieter and much longer. I thought several times of giving up and moving on to something else, but every time I picked it up I got lost in the story, its characters, and its sly humor. The last third of the book definitely picks up speed. I'm glad I finished it.
I enjoyed the characters very much; especially the main character, Beatrice Nash. Beatrice accepts the position of Latin teacher at a boys' school, after the death of her father leaves her with very few options to support herself. She arrives in Rye, a small coastal town in England, the summer before the outbreak of World War I. This book discusses the role of women in this era; and of course includes themes of love, tragedy, and war. It's a serious book with charming characters. Enjoyable.